Thank you so very much for taking the time to respond to me. It is truly greatly appreciated :)

Wow - yes, the "daily assault on my self confidence" as you write here, was equally true for me, as well.

But it was also the gas lighting/emotional manipulation/ the inability of myself to correctly gauge certain situations and/or people, too.

In some ways, I believe also that it helped to contribute to the ending of a former romantic relationship with someone that I cared deeply for because I was just too embarrassed to share with him what I was enduring perhaps because in my many jobs through the years I had NEVER encountered such abusive horrific treatment.

I was advised by my employment attorney NOT to quit because (a) it would make it much more difficult to collect unemployment and (b) it would look "better" case wise, in that eventuality, and would appear a "good faith effort" on my part.

But oh my - I would sometimes, in the rare instances that I could talk about it with anyone, say that I often felt like Anne Boleyn in the Tower, waiting for the inevitable knock on the door.

It was harrowing.

As my lawyer explained it, what happened to me was actually known as "papering the trail" - prior to being put on a bogus "Performance Improvement Plan" I had received a raise and an excellent review.

What had changed? My former wonderful manager left due to her ill health and a new (younger, less qualified) manager took over and my days were numbered...I don't think a lot of people realize too, that many employees are considered "At Will" which means basically that at any time, for any reason, an employee can be terminated - and well gosh, that sure seems "fair" doesn't it?!! Obviously, NOT.

So yes, I have documented A LOT and my attorney wants to wait for a "Position Statement" from my now former employer to then include some of that documentation in our response to see if, by some strange miracle, she can negotiate a higher settlement for me but I remain most doubtful.

As you say, the company counts on this fact: most people can't afford an individual lawsuit and I have no doubt that at some point in the future, there WILL be a class action lawsuit against this institution. So, I'm still waiting for an outcome of sorts but am also resigning myself to the very sad fact that any likely outcome will not be the one that I had hoped for (or even deserved). It's very sad.

Thank you again for sharing and I am sending all good thoughts that you emerge the victor in your case. *Hey America, here's why people REALLY quit their jobs: because they have to deal with shit like this* :)